1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to improvements in log splitting machines and, more particularly, but not by way of limitation, to machines in which a log is forced along a path to be intercepted by a splitting device at one end of the path.
2. Brief Discussion of the Prior Art
With the recent increased demand for firewood, machines have been developed to rapidly split logs into billets while eliminating the labor that has been associated with such work in the past. These machines generally comprise an elongated support upon which a log is placed for splitting, a hydraulically driven pusher that forces the log endwise along the support, and a blade at one end of the support to intercept the moving log and split it into two billets as the log moves past the blade.
While these machines have generally been successful in accomplishing their basic purpose of reducing the time and labor required to convert logs into billets of a size suitable for use as firewood in fireplaces, barbecue pits and the like, their labor saving potential has not been fully realized and, in addition, presently available machines are generally wasteful of fuel in their operation. In part, these problems are related to the nature of the job that the machines accomplish; that is, the division of a piece of wood into two parts.
Wood has a grain and, because of the grain, the resistance of a log to passage of the blade will vary with the path the blade takes through the log. In particular, a straight line path through the log defined by a fixed blade will usually not be the path of least resistance of the blade through the log. This path dependence of the resistance of the log to splitting can have a strong effect on fuel consumption; that is, the greater the resistance to splitting that the log exhibits, the more work the machine must do and the more fuel it must consume to do this work. Moreover, the path dependence of the resistance of the log to splitting unduly limits the size of logs that a machine of this type can handle. The power source for the machine, usually a small internal combustion engine, has a limited power capability so that any factor, other than size, that has the effect of increasing the resistance of a log to splitting must be offset by a corresponding reduction in the maximum size of the logs that can be split by the machine. Since logs that cannot be split by the machine must often be split manually, the dependence of the resistance of the log to splitting upon the path of the blade through the log can partially defeat the labor saving benefit the machine is designed to afford the user. This is particularly true where the operator of the machine misjudges a log with the result that the machine jams during use. In this case, manual labor must also be expended to free the log from the blade in order that manual splitting can be carried out.
The saving of labor by the use of these machines is also incomplete in a particular respect. Following the splitting operation, the billets must be picked up for transport to a rick or, in some cases, to return the billets to the machine for splitting into smaller size billets. Where a large quantity of firewood is to be cut into billets; for example, where the machine is used by a commercial supplier of firewood, this stoop labor is by no means inconsequential. Moreover, the need for engaging in this labor tends to slow the production rate of appropriately sized billets to reduce the income that a seller of firewood can realize from his investment in the machine.